BPD Facts

-instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects

-severe instability can be seen in their fluctuating views and feelings about themselves, they often feel really good about themselves, their progress, and their futures, to only have a seemingly minor experience turn their world upside-down with plunging self-esteem and depressing hopelessness

-marked impulsivity that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts

-will often give up on something just before the goal is attained

-it is often difficult to maintain relationships, jobs, or educational goals since their basic instability extends to work and school

-psychotic-like symptoms may occur when they are under stress, symptoms include hallucinations, body-image distortions, ideas of reference, and hypnagogic phenomena

-typically don’t do well in personal relationships and may feel more comfortable with pets or inanimate objects, relationships are unstable

-risk of suicidal, self-mutilating, and/or brief psychotic states increases when they are experiencing an emotional state they cannot handle

-risk for suicide increases when the individual also has a co-occuring mood or substance-related disorder

-10% of adults with BPD commit suicide

-a person with BPD has a suicide rate 400 times greater than the general public

-patients suspected of BPD also exhibit symptoms of depressive mood disorders, addictions to various things, and anti-social behavior, other comorbid disorders include mood, substance related, eating, ptsd, adhd, and other personality disorders

-to the sufferer, BPD is about deep feelings, such as:

-if others really get to know me, they will find me rejectable and will not be able to love me and will leave me

-I need to have complete control of my feelings otherwise things will go completely wrong

-I have to adapt my needs to other people’s wishes otherwise they will leave me or attack me

-I am an evil person and I need to be punished

-if someone fails to keep a promise, that person can no longer be trusted

-if I trust someone, I run a great risk of getting hurt or disappointed

-if I comply with someone’s request, I run the risk of losing myself

-if you refuse someone’s request, you run the risk of losing that person

-I will always be alone

-I can’t manage by myself, I need someone to fall back on

-there is no one who really cares about me

-I don’t really know what I want

-I will never get what I want

-I’m powerless and vulnerable and I can’t protect myself

-I have no control of myself

-I can’t discipline myself

-my feelings and opinions are unfounded

-other people are not willing or helpful

BPD Triggers-

-perceived or real abandonment

-rejection of any kind

-loss of a job

-locations that invoke negative memories

-reminders of tragic events

-ending a relationship